Vietnamese activist on trial from prison cell in Thailand

A court in Bangkok on Thursday began hearing a Vietnamese request for the extradition of a Montagnard activist who Vietnam accuses of terrorism but who rights groups say will be tortured if sent back.

Y Quynh Bdap, 32, a campaigner for ethnic minority people, is wanted in Vietnam where he was sentenced in absentia in January to 10 years in prison after being convicted of involvement in 2023 attacks on public agencies in Dak Lak province in which nine people were killed.

The co-founder of the Montagnards Stand for Justice indigenous rights group has been in Thailand since 2018 and denies involvement in the 2023 violence.

He was not allowed to attend Wednesday’s hearing and had to take part by teleconference from remand detention after Vietnamese officials cited security concerns.

“It’s hard to inquire and translate on teleconference,” defending lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman told Radio Free Asia.

“It is also a disadvantage being unable to meet a lawyer in the courtroom.”

The case has shone a spotlight on Vietnam’s stand on dissent and also on what rights groups say is growing cooperation between states in the region to crack down on each other’s dissidents.

“The hearing must be transparent,” said Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, director of the Bangkok-based rights group Cross Cultural Foundation, describing Bdap as a rights defender at risk of deportation.

Bdap is from the Ede minority, one of about 30 groups known as Montagnards, the French term for hill people, in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. The mainly Christian groups have suffered years of persecution from authorities over religion and land rights.

‘Swap mart’

On June 11, Thai authorities arrested Bdap for “overstaying” his visa following an extradition request from Vietnam. 

Thailand does not recognize refugee status but the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has recognized him as a refugee and he is awaiting resettlement to a third country.

Bdap met Canadian authorities on June 10 to discuss resettlement there.

U.S. embassy officials and representatives of international organizations observed Thursday’s hearing, as did Vietnamese security officials.

As well as the hearing on Vietnam’s extradition request, Bdap will also stand trial for the immigration offense on Aug. 5.

It is unclear when the court will hand down its ruling, Bergman said, adding that Bdap would fight the two-tier proceedings.

She said she was hopeful that if a recently enacted Thai law on forced disappearances was taken into account, he “would not be sent back into harm’s way.”Thailand and Vietnam do not have an extradition treaty but have cooperated on a reciprocal cross-border basis in recent years when dealing with dissidents, right groups said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Thailand of acting like a “swap mart” to exchange dissidents, and disregarding international norms.

Independent experts have called on Thailand to respect the obligation of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning a person to a country where they would face a risk of persecution or torture, the U.N. rights office said last month

More than 160 people are incarcerated in Vietnamese prisons for criticizing the government, among them environmental activists and campaigners for  press freedom, according to Human Rights Watch.

Edited by Mike Firn.